I Just Need Some Answers

I'm not really sure what to do.....A few months ago my girlfriend collapsed at work due to dehydration....When she was brought into the hospital they found a cyst on her ovary that turned out to cancerous. The doctors insisted she have a complete hyterectomy but at 29 years old...She still wanted a chance to have children.

She ended up having surgery to remove one side of her ovaries and we thought everything was ok afterwards... But 2 months ago the doctors discovered a "shadow" on her stomach lining. The performed tests and could not figure out what it was and were afraid to go inside and risk infection so they decided chemo therapy.

She is now approaching the end of her treatment...The shadow has not moved, shrank or grown. Her white blood cell count is higher than it was before...She is losing so much weight...Down to about 84 pounds...The doctors are now concerned also that if she doesn't start adding on pounds her organs will fail.
Jesus...I can hardly see the screen I just can't stop crying.

Has anyone out there been through this?....The doctors aren't giving us any answers....They want to keep her on chemo even though they're still not sure what this shadow is....But it makes her nauseous...She throws up constantly and can't keep anything down. Does it make sense to keep her on the chemo when it could very well be an ulcer and the high white blood cell count due to severe dehydration?

I just don't have any answers and while the doctors say "wait and see" i'm watching the woman I love fade away.

I am sorry to hear that you and your girlfriend are going through this very distressing situation. I can give you a bit of insight as to why the doctors may be doing this. Even though they are not sure what this shadow may be, they are probably suggesting chemotherapy because ovarian cancer can spread to the peritoneal cavity (abdominal area) very easily. So they are probably trying to take precautions to make sure that if it has spread there that it won't spread further. Now this doesn't mean that they think this shadow is cancerous: but, again I stress that they are probably taking precautions.

As for keeping her on chemotherapy, ultimately the decision is up to her. However, it is common for patients and their loved ones to want to stop chemotherapy because of the awful side effects. Usually, the only time that doctors don't recommend chemo any further is when they think that they can't force the cancer back into remission, and then the cancer is deemed terminal.

As for how you are feeling, it is a normal reaction to feel utterly helpless when someone you love is suffering and you feel that nothing you do is helping them. All that you can do for her at this time is to offer her your love and support (which it sounds like you are already doing).

If you and your girlfriend ever feel that the doctors are doing or recommending things that you don't understand you should ask them questions. People often feel that doctors don't have the time or get frustrated with people who question them, but most of the time the doctors will take the time to answer questions that you have.